Category: Film Review

Seth MacFarlane generally does one thing, and he does with occasional inspiration. After years building his animation empire with “Family Guy” and “American Dad,” MacFarlane tried out live-action filmmaking with 2012’s “Ted,” a lewd, crude comedy with pleasingly bizarre acts of mischief wedged between the helmer’s obsessive need to shock and awe with his juvenile sense of humor. After experiencing a global box office smash, MacFarlane quickly returns to screens with “A Million Ways to Die in the West,” a western parody that makes “Blazing Saddles” look like a Noel Coward play. Limited in scope and silly business, the feature plays directly to MacFarlane’s fascination with poo-poo, pee-pee humor, without ever moving beyond the basics of sophomoric gags to transform into the raging farce it sporadically hints at becoming. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2010’s billion-dollar blockbuster “Alice in Wonderland” is the reason why we’re being inundated with fairy tale and fantasy revivals. 2012’s “Snow White and the Huntsman” continued the trend, last year’s “Oz the Great and Powerful” sustained it, and now there’s “Maleficent,” which returns to Disney’s animated classic, 1959’s “Sleeping Beauty,” for inspiration (a live-action “Cinderella” is due for release in 2015). However, this is no remake or reboot, but a reheating of known elements, with a few changes in motivation and an extension of backstory working to turn all attention to the villain of the tale. Only now, she’s no villain at all. Draining wickedness out of Maleficent, the production has defanged the character, and in their quest to recycle a brand name in the pursuit of big money, they’ve sucked the joy and danger out of the material, though, ever the plucky studio, Disney flails desperately to keep the feature candied and approachable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Cold in July” isn’t a typical revenge story, even while it retains pronounced elements of sin, murder, and paranoia. It’s an adaptation of a Joe R. Lansdale’s 1989 novel, yet it takes on a special screen magic in the care of co-writer/director Jim Mickle, who knows exactly what buttons to push when it comes to the saga of an innocent man pulled into a scheme of murder and survival. Thickly Texan, richly performed, and teeming with nail-biting sequences built around a riveting pulp story, “Cold in July” is aggressive and precisely crafted, playing with grim genre highlights in an excited manner that suggests Mickle was smiling throughout the entire production. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As a vessel of drama, the Polish production “Ida” doesn’t swing wildly. In fact, conflicts are minimal and passions are largely tempered or worn down by life, giving a simplistic story of awakening room to breathe as it carries out its observational approach. What’s impressive here is director Pawel Pawlikowski’s cinematic form, creating a black and white world for “Ida” that carries harsh and seductive qualities while wisely remaining invested in the power of reaction, as internalization plays a critical role in the effort. It’s beautifully crafted all around, keeping “Ida” engrossing as it explores screen stillness, putting its faith in the power of subtle revelations as a means of suspense. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“The Big Ask” isn’t exactly emotionally authentic, but it makes a concerted effort to represent the scattered mindset of grief and depression. To help plumb the depths of woe, it employs a slightly comical premise to ease viewers into murky psychology, teasing a randy farce when all the film would like to do is sit down and cry. It’s an interesting misdirect for a largely successful exploration of human connection, with all its insecurities and temptations, featuring a sharp ensemble of talented actors able to extract pure feeling out of a potentially hackneyed script. Director Thomas Beatty and Rebecca Fishman botch their third act payoff, but “The Big Ask” remains a compellingly exploratory odyssey into desperate acts of communication, with a side of sexual awkwardness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When the source material for a movie emerges from the mind of novelist Irving Welsh, certain expectations for European hellraising are set. “Filth,” an adaptation of Welsh’s 1998 book, follows the writer’s routine, summoning a carnival of chemical excess and bad behavior that’s tied to past trauma, playing both the impish qualities of troublemaking and its deep-seated shame. After “Trainspotting,” “The Acid House,” and “Ecstasy,” perhaps everything about Welsh’s work has been sufficiently exploited by now. “Filth” proves there’s a little more gas in the tank than originally thought, and while the feature isn’t as cohesively anarchic as it imagines itself to be, it works in fits, boosted by a triumphantly face-rubbing lead performance from James McAvoy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A French-German production, the heroically titled “Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas” will most likely be identified as a historical adventure in the vein of Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart,” and the pictures share a few similarities in vast European locales and brutality of justice. However, “Age of Uprising” is a far more subtle creation, less about the roar of inhumanity and more about the cold stare of fairness. Led by exceptionally internalized work from star Mads Mikkelsen, the feature doesn’t reach out to the mass audience, instead embarking in a specialized direction of medieval disruption that often plays stoically and silently. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

And how could one even begin to disagree with the message of “The Normal Heart.” Larry Kramer brings his 1985 off-Broadway play on the HIV/AIDS crisis to the screen, reviving a period in American history where the great unknown mercilessly tore through the gay community, trigging panic and isolation while the powers that be refused to participate in the fight. It’s a story of courage, anger, and confusion, sold with blistering honesty, realism, and liberal helpings of theatricality, with extensive monologues exploring the bitter feelings of social and medical quarantine as the particulars of the disease were being researched. “The Normal Heart” absolutely retains its significance, it’s the execution from director Ryan Murphy that’s worthy of dismissal, allowing a heavy-handedness to drive the provocative material into frustrating repetition. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Phil Alden Robinson is a talented filmmaker, responsible for gems such as “Sneakers” and “Field of Dreams.” It’s been quite some time since he last helmed a movie, dating back to 2002’s underrated Jack Ryan thriller, “The Sum of All Fears,” making his latest, “The Angriest Man in Brooklyn,” interesting before it even begins, as it represents material that pulled Robinson out of whatever semi-retirement state was in. Once the feature gets going, hope for a wondrous return to form is lost, as Daniel Taplitz’s screenplay is soaked in phoniness, while Robinson can’t get his hands around the premise, swinging wildly from farcical elements to wearisome melodrama, offering a shapeless, tedious pass at a self-improvement picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Parts Per Billion” is the type of film that stretches for profundity, but can only reach a punishing ambiance of despondency. Taking on the end of the world, writer/director Brian Horiuchi struggles to create a dynamic doomsday vibe while tending to the intimate details of humanity as it struggles with the inevitable. More dull than devastating, “Parts Per Billion” can’t kickstart a convincing mood of panic, instead resting on tedious existential discussions and relationship woes while stringing together a useless cat’s cradle of character connections, forgoing the larger portrait of desperation to keep everything linked in a contrived manner. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The seventh installment of the “X-Men” series, “X-Men: Days of Future Past” is determined to remind the viewer that there were only two high-quality chapters, 2000’s “X-Men,” and 2003’s “X2: X-Men United.” The rest of the franchise is treated as mere bumps in the road as director Bryan Singer hopes to reclaim what he lost when he walked away from the series after the first sequel. Renewed comic book vigor is front and center here, restoring the grandeur of the mutant superhero saga, taking the characters to a uniquely dark place of possible extinction that transforms the feature into a game of survival, not slick widescreen heroism. Gritty and mindful of character, “Days of Future Past” is a triumphant return to form for the “X-Men” universe, proving there’s still some life kicking around the brand name after last summer’s snoozy “The Wolverine” missed the mark. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It’s been 13 years since Jon Favreau made a small-scale comedy like “Chef.” In the interim, he’s been busy making blockbusters and helping Marvel get their act together with the eye-opening success of 2008’s “Iron Man” and its sequel. “Chef” returns some much needed spontaneity to the helmer’s filmography, creating a character-based story that trades enormous displays of CGI for the miracle of cooking, using succulent showcases of kitchen creations to lure viewers in while an effectively simple tale of growth and responsibility plays in the background. It’s a lovely picture, brimming with an elastic sense of humor and modest pathos, returning Favreau to a position of behavioral observation, playing around with screen essentials instead of organizing colossal elements of action. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Stand Clear of the Closing Doors” has a story, and it’s a powerful one about the loss of a child, with the searching parent left with limited resources as their worst nightmare is realized. However, director Sam Fleischner doesn’t pay much attention to a narrow dramatic view, electing to create a nervous landscape of sights and sounds to help shape the narrative. “Stand Clear of the Closing Doors” is a wonderfully cinematic effort, brimming with life and tension, while performances from a host of newcomers summon a rich sense of curiosity and despair that instills the picture with a special screen power. Although it never holds much interest in emphasis, it’s a striking, riveting feature that showcases Fleischner as a refreshingly observant talent. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Adam Sandler hasn’t been hurting at the box office, yet “Blended” feels like an act of career desperation. The last few years have showcased a fatigued performer unable to revive the glorious insanity of his early work, resorting to drag (“Jack & Jill”), sequels (“Grown Ups 2”), and animated fare (“Hotel Transylvania”) to keep the money train in motion, forgoing the nuisance of actual jokes to plow ahead with bodily function humor and strained broheim shenanigans with equally tired co-stars. “Blended” isn’t a return to form for Sandler, but it resembles an actual movie at times, a quality that’s been missing from his recent output. Never inspired but intermittently amusing, “Blended” brings in Drew Barrymore, a proven Sandler love interest, to pull the star out of his shell, and it works, but not nearly to the extent it should. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Forev” is a micro-budgeted love story that plays with the conventions of a romantic comedy while indulging more than a few clichés to boost its appeal. Perhaps its most notable aspect is star Noel Wells, a newcomer to “Saturday Night Live” who found herself in a crowd of unfamiliar faces, all angling for precious seconds of screentime this past season. With “Forev,” Wells is allowed to show off her skills, and she delivers a funny, likable performance in a charming but unremarkable movie that doesn’t really aspire to be anything but cute. To that extent, it’s a success, hitting a few high points of manic behavior while smoothly managing its predilection towards indie film quirk. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Teenage ennui is pushed into the digital age in Gia Coppola’s “Palo Alto,” an adaptation of James Franco’s 2010 collection of short stories. If the name Coppola sounds familiar, it’s because Gia’s the granddaughter of maestro Francis Ford Coppola and the niece of Sofia. In fact, there is a host of second generation entertainers swarming the picture as well, with Val Kilmer’s son, Eric Roberts’s daughter, and Polly Draper’s son taking starring roles (Michael Madsen’s son and Amanda de Cadenet’s daughter also appear), and even a Gretsky is somewhere around here as well. While casting peculiarities are interesting, “Palo Alto” doesn’t match such oddity, playing it relatively safe with a tale of messed up kids toying with irresponsibility, guided by parents without a clue. It’s wonderfully shot, with moment of rawness, but Coppola can’t shake the suffocating been-there, done-that atmosphere of the film. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There’s an expectation of aging on film, a march of maturation that frequently involves quiet dignity or perhaps a comedic impishness that helps to dodge the branding process of senility. “Bright Days Ahead” touches on a rather modern quandary of forced obsolescence, where the old guard of society is lured into the pasture before they’re ready, while any spark of youthful activity refocuses energy in ways often discouraged. “Bright Days Ahead” isn’t profound, but it addresses a certain mentality of disposability as it sweeps through its tale of infidelity, while the lead performance from Fanny Ardant is superbly measured, bringing an interesting internalization to an occasionally, but not crushingly, routine look at the power of flirtation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While Richard Linklater collects deserved accolades for his upcoming experiment, “Boyhood,” and his ongoing “Before Sunrise” series, writer/director Cedric Klapisch has been working the same concept, tracking the lives of special characters throughout the years. The third chapter is what’s become a continuing examination of maturity, “Chinese Puzzle” follows 2002’s “L’Auberge Espagnole” and 2005’s “Russian Dolls,” catching up with these peculiar personalities as they prepare to greet the age of 40, with a fresh set of complications and responsibilities to manage as lives are turned upside down. Keeping up with a decent sense of humor and oddball interactions, “Chinese Puzzle” manages to sustain the mischief Klapisch started over a decade ago, making this update charming and funny when it’s not pursuing artificial conflicts. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Over the past two decades, James Gray has directed only four features (“Little Odessa,” “The Yards,” “We Own the Night,” and “Two Lovers”), each with their own style, restless fixations, and beauty. His fifth picture is “The Immigrant,” a period melodrama that’s finally seeing release a year after its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, and it fits in perfectly with his oeuvre, using a decidedly cinematic approach to expose raw feelings and gut-rot acts of survival. It’s old-fashioned work befitting its time period, but “The Immigrant” is also gorgeously executed and incisively acted, depicting the isolation of the American Dream with a pure concentration on desperation and manipulation, gifted a sepia glaze to sell the step back in time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A legendary brand name built over the course of nearly 30 feature films, Godzilla has proven himself to be a valuable cinematic icon, with his monster-stomping ways thrilling audiences all over the world. Often the center of citywide destruction, there isn’t much to do with the character beyond large-scale violence, leaving the human factor to guide all these efforts, in a series that kicked off 60 years ago. 2014’s “Godzilla” isn’t a remake but a reboot, hoping to reignite the fervor for creature mayhem with a newly designed King of the Monsters and a supporting cast of talented actors hired to make awestruck faces and smoothly exchange expositional dialogue, with a newfound concentration on heartbreaking scenes of loss. There is might and fury to “Godzilla” that’s often amazing to behold, but its limitations and weird storytelling choices throttle the escapism, while the titular Goliath merely makes an extended cameo in his own picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com